Films with a feminist angle

[rosiepony]

Hi everyone, I’m looking for films with a feminist angle to watch during this lockdown.

I watched Silence of The Lambs last night with my DD for the first time in ages. I was reminded how brilliant it is, how it centres Jodie’s role and shines a critical light on all the male characters although they’re exaggerated for entertainment. I also had new reflections on Buffalo Bill and his ‘woman suit’ although I won’t go into that for fear of being banned! Quite timely given what’s going on though!

Anyway, I’d be grateful for any recommendations. Thanks.

WTFseriously

So not Trans but just very emotionally damaged. Ummm okay!

Another good film is Wadjda. Set in Saudi Arabia, the story of a young girl pushing against the oppressive restrictions on her for being female as she grows up. Great wee film.

A few films I've enjoyed recently:

Ladybird - probably not a "feminist film" as such but it's a brilliant film and one of the only times I've seen a teenage girl portrayed as strong, assertive, smart and interesting.

The Post - not the best film I've ever seen but does a great job of portraying how women are socialised into self-doubt and how that, plus the sexism they experience at work, holds them back in their careers. Plus Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks are always great.

The People Vs OJ Simpson - a Netflix dramatisation of the OJ Simpson trial. Feminist in the sense of showing how the prosecutor had to deal with endless attacks on her appearance/demeanor/ability just because she was female. Also does a great job of portraying domestic violence, especially how women's fears/experiences are dismissed or ignored.

There’s a great Ruth Bader-Ginsburg doc called The Notorious RBG - so good!

Waitress is excellent. I second Made in Dagenham as well.

Spy is a silly comedy but has really good messages about people’s capabilities, and a female baddy.

Definitely Frozen!

His Girl Friday is v good - probably because the main part was originally written as a man

Thanks so much for all of these everyone. Lockdown is looking less bleak with these brilliant films to look forward to.
I’ve seen some of them but loads of new stuff!

@WTFSeriously - Forgot Wadjda, that’s a lovely film!

We watched Spy before silence of the lambs last night!
Vey funny.

Happy go lucky, Mike Leigh, stars Sally Hawkins.

The Accused, Jodie Foster. Not easy to watch at all as it's about a woman's fight to get her rapists prosecuted, but it's very well done and thought-provoking.

Are you into horror Rosie? The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is IMO a hugely feminist film and again touches on the 'women' suit, when Leatherface dons female skin to act as the submissive housewife in the dinner scene.

The men are either deranged (would love to know what TRAs think of Leatherface) or, for the men in the group of friends, they refuse to listen to the women and make terrible decisions that affect the whole group. It is consistently the women who try to take the best option and talk the men away from walking into hell, but are not listened to and the results are catastrophic.

And of course, we have one of the original Final Girls.

Suffragette
An Education

Another one saying Thelma and Louise. Prob dated now but one of my all time favourite films. Groundbreaking at the time - took the trope of the male road movie and completely subverted it. Heart-stopping end!

I was surprised to read that Dredd scores well on the Bechdel test. Then again I suppose it makes sense as Judges are forbidden to have sexual relationships so it's more about the characters of Dredd and Cassandra Anderson (plus you have Lena Headey playing the baddie, Ma-Ma).

(The one to avoid is 'Gangster Story' - terribly written, worst film I've seen in years. The Highwaymen was excellent, while mot particularly feminist).

Also almost anything by Asghar Farhadi - an Iranian director (man) making films with a distinctly feminist viewpoint. Would specially recommend A Separation, The Past, and The Salesman.

Bend it like Beckham
Wajida
The Breadwinner
Vera Drake
Educating Rita

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe and the BBC Pride and Prejudice both made a huge - positive! - impact on my teen dd. Fabulous films. Vastly more feminist IMO than Thelma and Louise, where the takeaway message in the end is that women cannot win. I found the ending very depressing.

How is Frozen a feminist film? What’s her face dumps her responsibilities on some random male with a pretty face.

Now, The Snow Queen, otoh, is a feminist tale. Gerda sets off to save her brother, helped by a variety of strong females, the Robber Girl, the Lap Woman and the Finn Woman.

Shirley Valentine? Not 100% certain it's ' feminist', but she makes her own happiness by going against what is expected of her. And it's another lovely film.

dayDreamingDay, I love good horror and will watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre again with your points in mind.

I hadn’t heard of Final Girls so thanks.

The Descent is free on All4, so I’m going to watch that tonight as it’s Saturday night and we’re having wine and a curry. Perfect!

Lol sorry Rosie I just meant that the character of Sally in TCH was one of the first final girls, which is kind of a trope now in horror. I LOVE that film.

Big little Lies

I thought about not putting this forward, because it's sometimes very cringy stereotypes in parts, its also very frustrating to watch and as much as I like a who done it, after half way through I googled to find out. I don't know if it got better because I now knew, or the story and characters got better.

Both seasons left a big impression though.
I think I prefer the second season.

DD haha I get it!

I love Pride and Prejudice, but don't see how it's particularly feminist (or otherwise).

"The Accused, Jodie Foster. Not easy to watch at all as it's about a woman's fight to get her rapists prosecuted, but it's very well done and thought-provoking."

There's also a series on Netflix based on a true story: Unbelievable.
Highly recommended.

'I am not an easy man' on Netflix. French role reversal film about a misogynist who wakes up in an alternate dimension in which the patriarchy has been replaced with a matriarchy and he suddenly has to deal with the same casual sexism that he used to dole out.
Bit of a sledgehammer at times, but very good at highlighting how ridiculous sexist expectations are.

I'm going to lower the tone. Pitch Perfect. All three of them. Now there is some objectification and it's not perfect. But it portrays a group of talented women, who love each other, winning. And through the trilogy, the men become less and less important. The relationship angle, for Anna Kendrick's character at least, disappears.

And in the second one, AK's character means to insult another woman but keeps saying things like, "your sweat smells like cinnamon" and "you are literally flawless" instead. It's a nice twist on women having to be awful to each other.

And I love the pillow fight scene when AK's character comes back and says, "you know this sets women back like 30 years". It shines a light on the lazy tropes that other film makers use.